1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise system that allows one or more persons to play a game while exercising.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many people have a desire and/or need to exercise in order to achieve better health and/or improve personal appearance. Some typical exercise activities are jogging, weight lifting, use of exercise devices, and participation in sporting activities. The known exercise activities have numerous disadvantages including, but not limited to, those set forth below.
It is often difficult to maintain an exercise regimen due to boredom caused by the activity or time constraints. Although participation in sporting activities is often competitive in nature and, therefore, can decrease any lack of motivation caused by boredom, many sporting activities are played outside and, consequently, are weather sensitive. Furthermore, sporting activities can require expensive public or private facilities, which can result in limited availability. Additionally, there is current concern, especially regarding aerobic exercises, that the jarring impact of certain activities can injure an individual""s skeletal/muscular system.
Home exercise devices are also not fully satisfactory. For example, although many people primarily wish to exercise the abdominal and chest muscles, many of the home exercise devices exercise only the leg or arm muscles.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that induces a person to exercise.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that allows one or more persons to exercise while playing a game.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that exercises the muscles of the abdomen, the back, the shoulders, the chest, and the arms of one or more persons.
Another object of the invention is to provide a low impact exercise game apparatus that reduces the deleterious effects of jarring type impacts on the players"" skeletal/muscular system and keeps the players relatively safe from injury.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise game apparatus that can be played in a relatively small space, so that it can be played indoors in an environmental controlled space.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise game apparatus that can be readily adjust to accommodate a wide range of anatomical dimensions of individual player(s).
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise game apparatus that can easily be adjusted to provide varying levels of resistance to the physical movements of the individual player(s), both in order to vary the amount of muscular exercise experienced by a player, and also to provide a means by which to handicap either player so as to allow two people of varying strength and ability an equal opportunity to win the game.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise game apparatus that can be played by individuals that have certain physical handicaps.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise game apparatus that can be easily disassembled or collapsed in such a way that the apparatus can be stored in a cubic space substantially less than the cubic space necessary to play or practice the game and that is easily movable when disassembled or collapsed.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise game that provides for competitive play using equipment that is affordable.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention comprises an exercise system for one or more persons comprising a frame, at least one game element, at least one striking member operable by a person to engage the game element, and a resistance system connected to the striking member for resisting the movement of the striking member as the striking member is operated by the person to engage the game element, whereby the person performs exercise by overcoming the resistance of the resistance system while operating the striking member to exchange the game element.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.